1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to vehicle door barrier panels and, more specifically, to vehicle door barrier panels having removable attachment tabs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automotive vehicles typically include door assemblies with inner and outer panels attached together. Oftentimes, a cavity is formed between the panels, and various components are positioned between the panels in the cavity. These components can include speakers, motors for power locks and windows, and the like.
One additional component that can be included between the door panels is a barrier panel. A barrier panel is a generally flat member used to acoustically insulate the interior of the vehicle from excessive road noise, to impede water from entering the interior of the vehicle, or for other uses. One exemplary barrier panel is shown in published U.S. Patent Application US2004/0012219A1 to Banks. As shown in that application, the barrier panel has a generally continuous periphery. A plurality of apertures is intermittently spaced about the periphery of the barrier panel, and fasteners attach the barrier panel to the door panels.
Although prior art barrier panels have generally functioned well for their intended purposes, they suffer from certain disadvantages experienced during manufacture of vehicle door assemblies. More specifically, in many vehicle door assembly designs, individual fasteners extend through the inner door panel, the barrier panel, and the outer door panel to secure all three panels together. Fasteners with longitudinally spaced ridges are often used for these purposes and the panels are fit between individual ridges to thereby retain the panels at a distance. Once assembled, however, the door assemblies are sometimes disassembled in order to access the cavity therein. For instance, disassembly may be necessary to replace a speaker, to repair the power window motor, or for other similar reason. Reassembling the door can be relatively difficult. Specifically, reassembling each panel between the desired ridges on the fasteners can be very frustrating and time consuming because there is limited space near those fasteners during reassembly. If the panels are not positioned correctly on the fasteners, the stack height of the panels may exceed the maximum allowable for proper assembly.
Therefore, there is an ongoing need in the art for a barrier panel that facilitates re-assembly of a vehicle door assembly.